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By Maya Angelou: Still I Rise

The poem describes the resilience and strength of African Americans in rising above oppression. It states that though the speaker may be written down in history with lies, tread in dirt, or killed with hate, they will still rise like dust, air, and oceans. The speaker declares they will rise into a clear new day, bringing the gifts their ancestors gave as the dream and hope of slaves. They assert that though their enemies try to break them down, they will still rise up.

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192 views3 pages

By Maya Angelou: Still I Rise

The poem describes the resilience and strength of African Americans in rising above oppression. It states that though the speaker may be written down in history with lies, tread in dirt, or killed with hate, they will still rise like dust, air, and oceans. The speaker declares they will rise into a clear new day, bringing the gifts their ancestors gave as the dream and hope of slaves. They assert that though their enemies try to break them down, they will still rise up.

Uploaded by

N. Huey Huey
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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STILL I RISE

BY MAYA ANGELOU

You may write me down in history Out of the huts of history's shame
With your bitter, twisted lies, I rise
You may tread me in the very dirt Up from a past that's rooted in pain
But still, like dust, I'll rise. I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Does my sassiness upset you? Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Why are you beset with gloom? Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells I rise
Pumping in my living room. Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Just like moons and like suns, Bringing the gifts that my ancestors
With the certainty of tides, gave,
Just like hopes springing high, I am the dream and the hope of the
Still I'll rise. slave.
I rise
Did you want to see me broken? I rise
Bowed head and lowered eyes? I rise.
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?


Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.

You may shoot me with your words,


You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?


Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

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